Brexit negotiations to find a solution as ‘serious differences’ persist

THE BREXIT NEGOTIATIONS ARE scheduled to resume between the UK and the EU tomorrow after they were halted last night over divergences in agreements sought by the two sides.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, spoke by phone today to discuss how to advance the trade negotiations.

In a joint statement tonight, Von der Leyen and Johnson said that “in a phone call today about the ongoing negotiations between the European Union and the UK, we welcome the fact that progress has been made in many areas.”

“However, significant differences remain on three critical issues: a level playing field, governance and fisheries,” the two leaders said.

“Both parties stress that no agreement is feasible if these problems are not resolved.

“While we recognize the seriousness of these differences, we agreed that our negotiating teams would go the extra mile to assess whether they can be resolved.

We are therefore instructing our main negotiators to meet tomorrow in Brussels and we will speak again on Monday evening. “

Von der Leyen and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke today after talks stopped last night when EU and UK negotiators said conditions for reaching an agreement had not been met.

Following the outcome of the call between the two leaders, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said: “I welcome the fact that the negotiators resume their discussions on a trade agreement between the EU and the UK in Brussels tomorrow.”

“One deal is best for everyone,” Martin said.

“Everything possible should be done to reach an agreement,” he said.

Michel Barnier, the European Commission’s head of negotiations with the UK, and David Frost, the prime minister’s EU advisor, said last night that there were “significant divergences” between the two sides.

In a joint statement, Barnier and Frost said they agreed to stop the talks to inform their Directors about the status of the negotiations.

Barnier issued a short response tonight following the decision by Von der Leyen and Johnson to ask negotiators to resume talks.

We will see if there is a way forward. Work continues tomorrow.

The three key issues that remain to be resolved between the negotiating teams – fisheries, governance and a level playing field – have been the focus of post-Brexit talks in recent days.

The ‘level playing field’ issue concerns the objectives of preventing unfair competition in subsidies and state rules, while in fishing rights, the UK seeks to assert control of its waters in a post-Brexit era .